Since the late 1990s, research into gun violence dried up at federal agencies when funding for it was rescinded from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and congressional budget riders chilled interest in pursing the topic following pressure from gun advocates.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he will introduce a bill that rescinds the barriers to fund this basic research.

"We're talking about data collection, fact-finding, scientific research that will inform policymakers, the Congress, as well as advocates," Blumenthal said.

Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday, according to news reports, indicated that the administration's package on gun control measures, mental health services and the effect of violent video images will also look at the ability of the government to conduct research on gun violence.

The New York Times reported that Biden said the government needs to find out which weapons are used to kill people and which are trafficked.

"The authority of the CDC and the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) should be clarified" and they should not be discouraged from engaging in research, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal referred to the barriers on the ATF from sharing information that traces the origin of firearms used in crimes.

According to Pro Publica, the Tiahrt Amendment adopted in 2003, does not allow the ATF from requiring gun dealers to "conduct an inventory to account for lost or stolen guns; records of customer background checks must be destroyed within 24 hours if they are clean enough to allow the sale; and trace data can't be used in state civil lawsuits or in an effort to suspend or revoke a gun dealer's license."

After a study conducted by the CDC in 1993 found that "a gun kept in the home is far more likely to be involved in the death of a family member of the household than it is to be used to kill in self defense," the $2.6 million federal allocation used for firearms research was removed from its budget.

The New York Times tied the dearth of funds for gun violence research to a clash with the National Rifle Association which said the CDC research was political, not scientific. Chris Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist, said in the 2011 report: "Our concern is not with legitimate medical science. Our concern is they were promoting the idea that gun ownership was a disease that needed to be eradicated."

The CDC appropriation bill continues to contain this caveat: "None of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control." The CDC however, is prohibited from lobbying for any legislation, and no other research area has been cited in the budget bill.

Blumenthal said his bill may be part of legislation that U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va, will introduce asking the National Academy of Sciences to study the impact of violent video games and violent video programming on children. This would be the eighth study on the effect of violent video games since the 1999 shooting incident at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Blumenthal said neither side in the discussion should have to rely on anecdotal evidence on important questions connected to gun violence.